02/08/09

...Just like San Sebastian

by louisvuittondon425

My boyfriend and I have been to Txori on numerous occasions and have never been dissapointed. We've gone to Spain on vacation, including Madrid and San Sebastian, and are planning another trip end of May. We were very pleased to find a place like Txori here in Seattle, where they serve authentic Basque-style pinxtos. My favorite pinxto would be the squid in black ink. It is absolutely dee-li-cious!! The braised oxtail and stuffed peppers are also very scrumptious. What p*ssed me off was reading a review left by "Aasea" (12/30/2007), who said she she was disgusted by all the napkins left on the floor. Helloooo...!! That's what you're supposed to do! Obviously this person has never gone to Spain so I think that it's very unfair to judge when you have no idea what you're talking about! If you go to any good tapas/pintxos bar in San Sebastian, you will see that there are always napkins on the floor. Secondly, people don't go to a tapas/pintxos bar to "fill up", you cow!! The whole point of 'tapas bar-hopping" is to grab a few bites and a drink, then move on to the next spot. Maybe this "Aasea" character would be better off super-sizing their meal at McDonald's!! Txori isn't meant to be a huge restaurant with over-filled plates of food. So I feel that you, "Aasea" have completely missed the point. Yes, it can get a bit pricey, but you are paying for superb-quality food. If what you have in mind is a plate full of low-quality garbage for $9.99, then you better take your silly a** somewhere else. I don't normally get this ticked off about random restaurant reviews, but this clown really p*ssed me off! Txori and The Harvest Vine are two of my absolute favorite restaurants in Seattle, so to anyone who begs to differ...BRING IT ON !! Much love, Txori...Keep up the good work!!

• Pros: Food is aMAAAzing
• Cons: A bit pricey, but worth it

09/16/08

Spain in Seattle

by girlkitty

I love this restaurant. The food is so delicious. I love the back patio. A quiet getaway in the heart of downtown. And the service is always great!

• Pros: Beautiful interior, great food, great service
• Cons: none

09/10/08

Great Tapas

by karenwd

Limited but very good selection of authentic tapas. Keep in mind the portions are really one bite so be prepared to order several different items per person. THe flavors are bold and very tasty. It can get pricey but well worth it.

09/01/08

Wish I could live at Txori!

by yayeer

Wow! My husband and I were so impressed with our meal at Txori. My husband has been to San Sabastian twice and I once and we have always wanted to find one like this back home. We loved the service, food, and ambiance. Our bill came out to $120 before tip but we got a bottle of wine, ate many items off the menu, most of the specials, dessert, and espresso. We were completely full and satisfied. The hot items came out very hot and everything tasted fresh and so flavorful! Small price to pay to feel like we took a quick trip to one of our favorite cities in the world!

06/04/08

Not worth the price

by dionito

In Spanish "un chori" (sounds the same as Txori) is a low level person dedicated to robbery (sorry, the system won't let me write it in a single word). And like after meeting one in a dark alley is how we felt after having some tapas in Txori. Nothing great, absurdly small portions (yes, even for tapas), and ridiculously high prices.

On top of that, you cannot stay standing at the bar, but the waitress asks you to throw your napkins on the floor saying "do it as you do in Spain...". I'd rather have the standing at the bar part for a beer and normal prices.

Not close to be worth, IMO.

• Pros: Spanish food, maybe...
• Cons: Price, service

06/03/08

Awesome!

by dlindy

Wow- all I can say is, don't miss trying Txori. The Basque small plates are fantastic! I've been to Spain several times and this is the closest I've had stateside, to what I enjoyed there. Seriously unbelievable lamb, octopus, stuffed squid, sauteed garbanzo beans.....the list goes on. Small plates yes, but the two of us were stuffed when we walked out! I saw several turn at the door, seeing the small space, but don't walk out if you have to wait for a table, just stand at the bar and watch the chefs at work! We waited only 20 minutes on a Friday night. And the service was incredible!

05/15/08

lightest spot in seattle

by amagnano

I have been to Txori twice for dinner, and enjoyed it immensely both times. San Sebastien was my favorite city in Spain--mostly because you could go to a small bar with a counter loaded with pintxos, and pick up one pintxo (bread with octopus, potato, tortilla, etc.) for one euro. If it wasn't your favorite--it was only one euro. Here the pinxtos are slightly more expensive, but I think that the other reviewers' aversion to the Txori experience is due to inherently american expectations of a large cohesive meal. The first dinner I had at Txori was under $100, including a great bottle of wine, and my friend and I went away having tried almost everything on the menu. I can easily think of 10 other restaurants in the area where the bill wouldn't be so forgiving.

If you want a large meal--Txori might not be for you. But if you want to try 5-10 different pintxos, while swilling a great glass of spanish red for $6--this place is great.

Only complaint: the service was great the first time, lackluster the second. The lag time between finishing our meal and getting the bill was at least 25 minutes, which was annoying.

03/15/08

This place is really growing on me, and will be perfect in summer.

by cristalla

Yes, the food portions were smaller than I thought. The menu took a little getting used to. But the space is just so lovely and warm and summery to me (in a simple, non-kitchy way) that I keep going back. The food keeps getting better--or I'm getting better at ordering, or both. The portions are small, but so are the prices. The service has always been great. When they get that little deck done in back, I'll probably spend most of my summer evenings back there drinking that red-wine-and-cola drink whose name escapes me every time. I love Txori.

• Pros: Small tasty dishes, priced accordingly. Seemingly always open.
• Cons: Tricky menu, requires courage. (Actually, that's a pro.)

03/12/08

Go for cocktails and snacks

by justin70

Nice small tapas bar in the middle of Belltown but is a little hard to find as its not well marked. The cocktails were very good and quite interesting. The tapas are enough for 1 person so don't plan to share. If you know that going in you wont be disappointed. I would also suggest not going when you need a full meal but go for snacks. The tapas were traditional and very tasty but because there was a very long wait in between plates so my group of friends couldn't get full and were dissatisfied. You have to order many plates per person so the price is deceiving and it turns out to be very expensive. I've been to Spain many times and fell in love with the ritual of going from bar to bar eating pinxtos however this isn't quite spain and so just know that its not the place to go if you are starving. The tables are also very small so you really can only have 1 plate per person on the table at a time. There just isn't the room for them to bring you a bunch of plates even if the kitchen could handle it.

• Pros: Tasty Bites

01/05/08

An authentic pintxos bar in Seattle

by dmw100

Most of the complaints from earlier reviews are about the things that make Txori a truly authentic experience. If you don't want to experience a traditional San Sebastian pintxos bar, then don't go. But if you're looking to get a taste of a real pintxos bar with great food, this is it.

Go to San Sebastian, and you'll discover that all the pintxos bars are tiny. Everyone stands and jostles their way up to the bar and things are chaotic - that's what makes it so fun! Txori is actually much less chaotic and crowded than a typical pintxos bar, which is probably more suited to American expectations. I love how you can eat standing at the bar, watch the chefs, and just order whatever looks good (you can't go wrong - it's all great).

If you're expecting large plates, don't go. The small bites are just like what you'd find in San Sebastian. Normally, you'd go to several bars throughout the evening trying only a couple bites at each place, but we've got just one bar. Luckily Txori has plenty of options so you can assemble a meal by ordering several.

As for the comments below about the "disgusting" napkins all over the floor, consider yourself lucky. If you walk into a pintxos bar in San Sebastian and there aren't napkins on the floor, you might think twice about eating there - the most popular bars have napkins everywhere on the floor because it's a Spanish tradition to toss your used napkins on the floor (try a google search for 'napkins floor pintxos'). If there are a lot of napkins on the floor, it means it's a really popular bar. I think it's great that they're not stopping diners from doing this, since it makes the experience all the more authentic.

Honestly, this is the closest you'll come to an authentic pintxos bar experience without actually going to San Sebastian. If you're looking for a taste of Spain and awesome food, try Txori.

• Pros: Small bites, so you can try a lot of different things
• Cons: Parking in Belltown is awful